Bag dispensing cabinet



June -16, 1936. A SMITH 2,044,231

BAG DISPENSING CABINET Filed May 9, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 v w j" [NVENTOR ATTORNEYS June 16, W38. A. T. SMlTH 2,044,231

BAG DI SPENS ING CABINET Filed May 9, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z9 Z9 4 a ":JVENTOR BYfwlw ATTORNEYS Patented June 16, 1936 UNITED STATES can BAG DISPENSING CABINET Application May 9, 1934, Serial No. 724,677

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a cabinet which is more particularly designed for dispensing empty paper bags which are usually supplied to the trade in collapsed form so that the same can be stowed compactly.

It has been customary to take a bag from such a bundle preparatory to filling the same with goods by grasping the reversely folded bottom part and whipping the bag by hand so as to open the inlet or mouth thereof for convenience in introducing the goods into the same.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a cabinet of simple and inexpensive construction whereby bundles of such bags may be conveniently and compactly stored and easily and quickly removed one at a time from different bundles according to the size of bag which is desired, and leave the remaining bags in each bundle in a neat and orderly piled condition so as to present an attractive appearance.

Another object of this invention is to so organize the bag holding means that a plurality of rows of bundles of such bags may be stored one above the other in a compact form and thus reduce to a minimum the amount of space for storing a comparatively large number of such bundles in condition to be easily dispensed.

A further object of this invention is to so construct the casing of the cabinet which contains the bundle holders so that at least one of the outer walls thereof may be conveniently removed from the remaining parts of the cabinet and replaced by another wall, and thus enable the cabinet to be used not only for storing and dispensing paper bags but also permit the removable wall of the casing tobe utilized for advertising purposes and to change the character of the advertising on such removable wall from time to time as may be desired.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a dispensing cabinet embodying my invention and organized for supporting a plurality of bundles of paper bags in the form of two superposed transverse rows.

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same.

Figure 3 is a top plan View thereof.

Figure 4 is a rear elevation of the cabinet with a part of the rear wall thereof broken away to show some of its internal construction.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary vertical longitudinal section, on an enlarged scale, taken on line 55 Fig. 4.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary horizontal section, on an enlarged scale, taken on line 66 Fig. 4.

In the following description similar characters of reference indicate like parts in the several figures of the drawings. 5

The paper bags which are to be dispensed in this cabinet are supported therein in the form of bundles H as shown in Fig. 2, so that the several bags in each bundle are stacked one above the other in a collapsed and empty condition 10 with the upper or inlet part i l of the bags uppermost and the lower or closed end l2 thereof lowermost.

In its general organization the enclosing casing of the cabinet of this paper bag dispenser 15 comprises two upright longitudinal side walls l3,

IS, a horizontal top or wall 14, and a full height rear wall l5, and a short upright front wall Hi, all of which are preferably constructed of sheet metal. 20

The upper edges of the longitudinal walls l3 and the short wall l6 are preferably permanently connected, and this may be accomplished in any suitable manner but preferably by the means which are shown in the drawings and consisting of flanges ll bent downwardly and inwardly from the upper edges of the longitudinal walls so as to form downwardly opening channels which receive upwardly projecting flanges l8 on the adjacent upper edges of the longitudinal walls, as best shown in Fig. 4, and an inwardly and downwardly bent flange IS on the upper edge of the front wall l6 and forming a downwardly opening channel which receives an upwardly projecting transverse flange ZEI on the front edge of the top [4, as 35 best shown in Fig. 2. These flanges may be fixedly connected in any suitable manner, such as pressing the same tightly together or connecting the same by means of spot welding or otherwise.

The rear wall l5 of the enclosing casing is preferably detachably connected with the vertical rear edges of the longitudinal walls l3 and also with the rear edge of the top M so that this rear wall may be readily disconnected from. the longitudinal walls and top of the enclosing casing for convenience in replacing one of such rear walls for another when it is desired to use this wall for advertising purposes and the advertising matter appearing on the outer side of this rear wall is to be changed from time to time.

In the preferred means for detachably connecting the rear Wall with the longitudinal walls of the enclosing casing each of the vertical edges of this rear wall is provided with a flange which is bent into re-entrant form on the inner side of this wall, as best shown at 2| in Fig. 6, and thereby provide a laterally opening channel 22 which receives a vertical flange 23 which is bent inwardly from the adjacent rear edge of the respective longitudinal side wall l3.

Attachment of the rear wall to the longitudinal walls and removal therefrom is effected by moving this wall vertically and slidingly engaging its channels 22 with the flanges 23 of the longitudinal walls. In the lowermost or fully assembled position of the rear wall relative to the other parts of the enclosing casing this rear wall is interlocked with the rear edge of the top M by means of a hook-shaped flange 24 bent inwardly and downwardly from the upper edge of this rear wall so as to form a downwardly opening channel which receives an upwardly projecting flange 25 on the rear edge of the top, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 5.

The rear wall is held in its assembled position with the side walls and top of the enclosing casing by means of bolts 26, each of which passes through one end of a horizontal flange 21 projecting inwardly from the lower or horizontal edge of the rear wall and through the rear end of a longitudinal flange 28 projecting inwardly from the lower edge of the adjacent side wall l3 and underlying the adjacent part of the transverse flange 27. The lower end of the bolt 26 is preferably attached to a foot 29 which is constructed in the form of a downwardly opening suction cup, which upon engaging the top of a table or counter will operate to exert a pneumatic grip on this supporting surface and thereby prevent the cabinet from being easily displaced.

Similar pneumatic suction cups 3!] are secured by means of bolts 3| or otherwise to the underside of the front ends of the flanges 28 and the adjacent parts of the cabinet so as to form front feet for engaging the surface of the table or counter by means of a pneumatic grip and aid in holding the cabinet in place on its support.

When it is desired to remove the rear wall IS the rear bolts 26 are removed so as to permit the lower flange 21 to be raised with the rear wall until the lower end of each channel 22 clears the upper end of the respective flange 23, at which time the upper channel flange 24 has also been disengaged from the rear flange 25 of the top l4 and thus permits the rear wall I5 to be removed rearwardly from the cabinet casing. In order to permit the channels 22 of the rear wall to be thus elevated without conflicting with the top M, the rear corners of the latter are provided with clearance openings 32, as shown by full lines in Figs. 1, 3, and 4, and by dotted lines in Fig. 6.

Re-assembling of the rear wall with the other parts of the cabinet casing may be efiected by operating the parts in a reverse manner to that just mentioned.

The short front wall I6 is arranged along the upper front part of the casing and may be connected at its opposite ends with the side walls I3 in any suitable manner, for instance by means of flanges 33 projecting rearwardly from opposite ends of the front wall and connected with the inner sides of the walls l3 by soldering, spot welding or otherwise.

The lower front part of the enclosing casing opens forwardly and through this opening access is afforded to the holders which are arranged within the casing for supporting the bundles of paper bags which are to be dispensed so that they are readily accessible and may be removed conveniently one at a time from the respective bundles.

In the preferred organization of storing the bundles of bags in this cabinet two holders are employed one above the other, the lower holder being adapted to support two bundles of different sizes of comparatively large paper bags which are relatively wide and long, while the upper holder is adapted to support .a plurality of paper bags of smaller sizes which are relatively narrow and short, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1.

The lower holder includes a lower trough 34 which is mounted within the lower front part of the enclosing casing and is provided with a bottom 35, a front wall 36 and a rear wall 31 and extends the full width of the enclosing casing so that the side walls l3 form the end closures for this lower trough.

The upper holder includes an upper trough 38 which is arranged some distance above the lower trough and offset rearwardly therefrom and includes a bottom 39, an upright front wall 40, and an upright rear wall 4! and the same extends the full width of the enclosing casing so that the side walls l3 of the latter serve as the end walls of this upper trough. The lower trough is wider fore and aft of the cabinet so as to adapt the same better for large size of bags, while the upper trough is narrower fore and aft of the casing so as to better suit it for smaller sizes of bags.

From the upper edge of the rear wall of the lower trough a shelf 42 extends upwardly and rearwardly into approximately an ogee or letter 8 form, and from the upper edge of the rear wall of the upper trough an upper shelf 43 extends upwardly and rearwardly into approximately an ogee or letter 8 form. The upper trough is arranged in front of the front wall [6 of the enclosing casing and its shelf 43 extends underneath the top 14 thereof while the lower trough 36 is off-- set forwardly from the upper trough and its shelf 42 extends underneath the upper trough and also into the space between the underside of the upper shelf 43 and the rear wall l5 of the casing.

Each of the bundles of large size paper bags is placed with its lower end into the lower trough .and into engagement with the bottom thereof, and the rear side of this bundle is bent backwardly and upwardly against the correspondingly shaped lower shelf in which position the uppermost bag in each of these lower bundles can be easily removed by grasping the upwardly projecting bottom part of the foremost bag, which at this time diverges or projects forwardly from the body of the bag, as shown at 44 in Fig. 2, due to the resilience of the bags and thus permits these bags to be removed one at a time from the bundle with ease and facility when required for use.

In like manner each bundle of bags of smaller size is placed with its lower end in the upper trough 38 while the upper part of this bundle is bent backwardly and upwardly against the upper shelf 43. While each bundle occupies this position the upper edge portion of the folded bottom of the foremost bag in this pile is sprung outwardly by the resilience of the bag so that the same projects forwardly from the respective body, as shown at 45 in Fig. 2; and thus enables the attendant to conveniently grasp the flap formed successively on these bags and remove the same with ease and facility preparatory to filling the same with goods.

The large size of bags which are stored in the lower holder are usually sufficiently heavy so 7 that their weight causes them to lie in a rearwardly inclined position against the lower shelf 42. Inasmuch, however, as the smaller size bags are usually not sufficiently heavy to cause them to lie in their rearwardly inclined position against the upper shelf 43, bag retaining or presser means are employed for exerting a downward pressure against the upper part of each bundle of small bags, which means preferably consist of a presser arm 36 of sheet metal arranged above the upper shelf on a line with the space intended to be occupied by each of the bundles, and each of these presser arms being connected at its rear end with a leaf spring 41 mounted on the rear part of the underside of the top l4, while the front part of this arm is provided with a transverse bead 48 adapted to engage with the top of the respective bundle of bags and press the latter against the upper shelf 43 so that this bundle conforms to the shape of this shelf and causes the flap 45 of each bag as it reaches the foremost position on the bundle, to be sprung forwardly from the bundle where the same can be readily grasped.

In order to prevent the lower ends of the bundles in the troughs of the holders from crowding forwardly against the front walls thereof as the foremost bag of each bundle is successively removed therefrom, means are provided for maintaining the lower end of each bundle in a more or less separated condition. This is preferably effected by providing the bottom of each of these troughs with a plurality of upwardly projecting stop lugs 49 at different points on the bottom of each trough fore and aft thereof. In the present case these stop lugs are preferably constructed in pairs, the members of each pair being arranged one in front of the other, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and each pair projecting upwardly from a base strip 50 of metal which is secured to the bottom of the respective trough by soldering, spot welding or any other suitable means.

This paper bag dispensing apparatus is not only very simple and convenient in use but it also enables a comparatively large quantity of bags of this character to be stored in a relatively small space, and as the several bundles of bags are conveniently accessible and can be quickly removed according to the size required it enables a store keeper to serve a customer with greater despatch than has been possible heretofore.

I claim as my invention:

A dispensing cabinet comprising a casing having side walls, a rear Wall, a bottom, a top, a flange projecting inwardly from the lower edge of each side wall, a flange projecting inwardly from the lower edge of the rear wall and overlapping the rear parts of the lower flanges on the side walls, an upstanding flange arranged at the rear edge of the top, a downwardly opening channel arranged on the upper end of the rear wall and receiving the upstanding flange of said top, an upright re-entrant flange arranged on the vertical rear edge of each side wall and forming a rearwardly opening channel, and flanges projecting forwardly from opposite vertical edges of said rear wall and each engaging the channel of the re-entrant flange on one of the side walls, whereby said rear wall may be assembled with said side walls, bottom and top by sliding the vertical flanges of the rear wall downwardly in the channels of the side walls until the lower flange of the rear wall engages the lower flanges of the side walls and the upper channel of the rear wall receives the rear flange of the top, and the rear wall may be disassembled from the side walls, bottom and top by moving the rear wall upwardly relatively to the side walls, bottom and top.

ALVA T. SMITH. 

